“It’s not fair. You just did what they asked you.” She holds my hand in both of hers. “Why are you the only one being punished?”
“I was the only one who got caught.”
Her eyes brim. “The sacrificial lamb.”
“It’s only for two years. Maybe less. You know how overloaded the justice system is.”
“It’s prison, Wade. Like on TV.”
I pull her close. “Not like TV. It’s minimum security. Tomorrow I report, they’ll do intake and soon it will be routine. In a week, you can visit me.”
We don’t talk about what happens after I get out.
Getting caught and being the scapegoat is always the worst part.
This is a far-sighted character. He’s already thinking about life afterwards.
I wonder what ‘they’ told him to do!
Carrying the can, into the can. But I wonder what he’s got in mind for afterwards?
Someone pays for him taking the fall. Could get messy.
Nice take. Great dialogue too.
A difficult situation, but he’s realistic, and that could be helpful.
I agree with Sandra, I too wonder what he will be up to afterwards…and why he waits.
There’s a deep thread of inevitability about his gloomy future in your story.
Maybe prison is a better place to be actually…
interesting.
But it is one day at a time.
The future can be left unspoken..
I definitely feel the tension and the fear of what will happen after he gets released.
Nice shift of focus at the end. Very good.
So much tension in this story! I feel for the protagonist. At least, he’s pragmatic. And he’s protective of his lady-friend, or wife. Seems like he’s in for some suffering.
(Forgive my late response, but I’m computer-less. Using my husband’s computer right now. Mine is kaput.)